The Moment of Everything

Grand Central Publishing

The Moment of Everything
Shelly King
2014

The Summary
"Maggie Dupres has been 'involuntarily separated from payroll' at a Silicon Valley start-up.  Now she's whiling away her days in Dragonfly Used Books, a Mountain View institution, waiting for the Next Big Thing to come along.  When the opportunity arises for her to network at a Bay Area book club, she jumps at the chance - even if it means having to read Lady Chatterly's Lover, a book she hasn't encountered since college, in an evening.  But the edition she finds at the bookstore is no Penguin Classics Chatterly - it's an ancient hardcover with notes in the margins between two besotted lovers of long ago.  What Maggie finds in her search for the lovers and their fate, and what she learns about herself in the process, will surprise and move readers of this witty and tender novel."

The Good
I loved reading The Moment of Everything.  Maggie Dupres is a witty, vibrant narrator among a cast of funny and eccentric characters.  She's clever, but she's also capable.  Along with Dizzy, her best friend, she basically starts a company from the ground up--and then, when she suddenly finds herself in an economic rut, she eventually manages to make the best of it and befriends one of the most powerful ladies in the Silicon Valley.

Maggie is a strong, capable person, and she's a wonderful narrator to boot.  Her story isn't particularly extraordinary--heck, it's the story that a good portion of my entire generation was suddenly facing with the economic recession--but she tells it so well.  It's a sweet, romantic story, but it has a punch of reality to it that makes it worth reading.

I mean, you could probably characterize it as a romance novel; however, I think it's best to read it as a personal narrative, as Maggie's personal narrative.  Her story can't simply be quantified as a romance, that's too constricting, rather it encompasses a broad range of human experiences from love to heartbreak and financial uncertainty to job security.

It's a good story that I feel can appeal to a lot of people who have found themselves in her shoes, jobless and searching for what's missing in her life.  I find I enjoyed it from cover to cover, and not just because it's based in a bookstore.

Furthermore, I loved the other characters involved, especially Hugo.  Oh, I liked Jason--and Dizzy was a charmer, being both fabulous and wonderfully funny--but there was just something particularly special about Hugo.  He's full of strange wisdom and unusual life experiences.  He's a kind-hearted person with an eccentric streak and a (probably unhealthy) love for books.

And, okay, I adored Hugo for it.  I can see why Maggie loved and respected him as both employer and friend.  He seems a bit nutty, but beneath that veneer of eccentricity, he's incredibly intelligent and, like Maggie, quick-witted.  Their friendship is rich and wonderful, and their dialog is an unusual kind of perfection that I just can't even describe.  Their verbal exchanges had me cracking up at every opportunity.

I feel like I get the best of both worlds with The Moment of Everything:  a good story and good, solid characters.  Could I ask for anything more?

The Bad
Honestly, I have no complaints about The Moment of Everything.  It's one of those unusual novels that the more I dwell on it, the more I seem to like it.

The Ugly
Love is complicated.  Maybe even more so when two lovers are speaking to one another through a battered old copy of Lady Chatterly's Lover, and then their love letters are subsequently shared online.

Perhaps not the most conducive environment to starting a relationship.

Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore

Farrar, Straus & Giroux

Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore
Robin Sloan
2012

The Summary
"The Great Recession has shuffled Clay Jannon away from his life as a San Francisco web-design drone and into the aisles of Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore.  But after a few days on the job, Clay discovers that the store is more curious than its name or its gnomic owner might suggest.  The customers are few, and they never seem to buy anything--instead, they "check out" large, obscure volumes from strange corners of the store.  Suspicious, Clay engineers an analysis of the clientele's behavior, seeking help from his variously talented friends.  But when they bring their findings to Mr. Penumbra, they discover the bookstore's secrets extend far beyond its walls.  Rendered with irresistible brio and dazzling intelligence, Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore is exactly what it sounds like:  an establishment you have to enter and will never want to leave."

The Good
Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore was an exciting novel for me.  Although you might not think it at first, Mr. Penumbra's Bookstore is a mystery--a mystery that must be solved to proceed into an unlikely adventure, a mystery which the narrator finds himself inexplicably following.  It's fascinating to see new aspects of the bookstore come to light as Clay Jannon discovers new secrets and learns new things.

Speaking of Clay, I found I absolutely loved all the characters Robin Sloan introduced.  Clay was an excellent narrator.  Witty, bright, and unexpectedly creative, he put his mind to the test and set out for answers on a grand scale.  I loved his sense of humor and his adoration of fantasy, and I loved all of his friends:  kind, contemplative Penumbra; brilliant and boisterous Matt; friendly, loyal Neel; and, finally, smart and sassy Kat.

They helped make the novel everything it was.

I spent much of my time curious, wondering where the story would lead.  It's a strange story, meandering between the nearly archaic world of Mr. Penumbra's bookstore and the modern interconnected universe of Google, but I wasn't disappointed.  I found the connections between characters, between the mysterious society behind the bookstore and the modern world, between history and the present made sense without being overwhelming.

Granted, I might consider it a touch over the top--fantastical adventures criss-crossing the United States, delving into medieval history--but I enjoyed the element of fantasy involved.  It intrigued me, invited me to read more.  And while I may have been slightly disappointed by how the story ended, another part of me was relieved and exhilarated by the unexpected changes.

The Bad
Honestly, I don't have any complaints.  The story was a little wild, a little unbelievable, but I, nevertheless, enjoyed it and had a fun time reading Sloan's novel.

Clay has a few internal monologues that I belatedly realized were said aloud, which tripped me up a bit; however, I thought it was clever and funny rather than annoying.  It made me wonder if Clay sometimes had moments when he thought, "Did I really just say that out loud?", and I couldn't help but giggle.

The Ugly
Even the best things can't continue indefinitely.